


A Symphony of Colours

by just_plain_fanfics



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Make Up, because people say lance is the make up artist but i like to think keith is, its so soft im dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 14:24:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11807772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_plain_fanfics/pseuds/just_plain_fanfics
Summary: Keith likes make up, he always has. So what happens when Lance finds a make up case from somewhere within the castle?





	A Symphony of Colours

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be v light and happy but i'm a sad person so the ending got a bit sappy (i don't know how to control my emotions)

"Keith! Look at what I found!" Lance's voice rings out over the common room, and Keith instantly regrets not following Hunk and Pidge. He would have left with them, if he had known he would be subject to whatever Lance is on about now. Keith wonders what they're doing now, and if it's too late to run and join them, wherever they are.

"What is it, Lance?" Keith doesn't look up from his book, just flips to the next page and keeps reading. It's a book on training, one he found at the hidden library in the castle ship. It really is hidden, Keith had to trip over a fake wall to realize he'd opened up an entirely new passage way. Thinking back to the peaceful room, Keith momentarily forgets about Lance. Lance however, did not forget about Keith.

"Keeeeeeeeith." Lance flops down on the couch next to Keith, and something heavy lands next to him. Keith rolls his eyes and groans, closing his book after slipping a bookmark inside. He sets it to the side, taking a deep breath before turning to Lance.

"What do you want?" He looks over at the loud boy next to him, who's smiling mischievously. Keith catches himself before he can make a stupid comment on how very not cute Lance looks. Definitely not something Keith wants to kiss. Forget it. He looks back up at Lance, expression flat. Does Keith even want to know what he's up to now? He's about to turn back to his book when a strange case catches his eye. Keith's curiosity gets the best of him. "What is that?"

"Make up! There's a whole bunch of stuff in here, and most of it is the same as on earth! Make up really isn't my thing, I'm more of a skin care person, but I know the basics from watching my siblings." Lance grins, flicking the buckle on the case open to reveal a huge pile of brushes and containers. Lance gapes, mouth hanging open as his breath leaves him.

Keith gulps. Make up. He's itching to just up and steal the case from Lance, but he stops himself, watching as Lance keeps on rambling. Back when he was growing up, he would watch his mother do her make up in the mornings. Eventually when she left he would get into it, trying on the different things he found in her drawer. When she came home from work that night, she was more than just a little surprised to see her son with a messy face full of make up, but nonetheless helped him clean up.

She taught him as much as she could while he was young, even though he wasn't allowed to wear it out. Not that he went out much anyways. Still, make up nights with his mother were some of his favourite times. After the incident, Keith stopped doing make up. He got tossed around in different homes, and never had the courage or ability to go out and try to do his make up again. He saw how some of his foster siblings would react, looking at the 'girly' boys on the playground, and he kept his mouth shut. Eventually, he got into the garrison, and forgot about it entirely.

Then he met Shiro. Shiro, who let him watch as he did his routine in the morning, blending his foundation seamlessly into his face, and adding just a touch of eyeliner to enhance some of his already strong features. Sometimes Shiro's friend, or maybe more than friend, Matt came over and Shiro would smile and do Matt's make up too. It took a while, but Keith finally worked up the courage to ask Shiro to put eyeliner on him as well, and Shiro willingly agreed. It was amazing, to feel that free to do something like that again, to doll himself up and pretend he was with his mother again. Part of make up makes him sad, but the other part just makes him stronger, able to love how bold it looks.

After he gets kicked out of the garrison, Keith has a lot of free time. When he's not researching strange radio frequencies or sleeping, Keith does make up. He found some old stuff left over in the cabinet of the shack, and eventually went out and bought more from the town a little ways away. He's a little rocky at first, but as time goes on he gets better and better at creating both nude and strong looks. His contouring is amazing by the end of the year, you can barely even tell it's there. Keith's eye shadow blends together perfectly, and after hundreds of failed attempts at eyeliner, he finally has it down. He's proud of himself, though he would never tell anyone about any of this.

But now, in space, he could finally have access to brushes and and make up again. Except Lance got it first. And now he would have to endure hours of teasing and questions if he were to use it. Fuck. Keith bites his lip, his fingernails digging into his palms as he watches Lance root through the case. There's piles of make up in there, everything from foundation to mascara. Lance has started separating all of the types of products, putting each type into it's own pile. Keith lowers his eyebrows, glaring at one of the piles. It's the closest pile to him, right next to the lipstick. Keith would kill to have that red lipstick for himself. There's both concealer and foundation in it, and he can't help but think that it's not a very Lance thing to have them in the same pile.

Wordlessly he reaches over, starting to separate them into their rightful places. Lance hasn't noticed yet, too busy moving the eyeliner into it's own pile, lining up the bottles and pens by their height. Keith quietly slips his fingers around one of the tubes of lipstick, the bright red one. He pulls his hand back slipping the tube into his black fanny pack pocket and glancing back at Lance. He didn't even notice, so Keith lets out a breath and goes back to lining up the foundations.

"What are you doing?" Lance's voice in his ear makes Keith jolt, and he jumps back from the pile. Lance peers over his shoulder, looking at the two piles Keith made. For a second, Keith is sure Lance would notice the missing lipstick, but after a beat of silence Lance just switches the places of two bottles of concealer. "I didn't know there were foundations mixed in with the concealer! Thanks Keith!"

Keith lets a breath out, scowling. He crosses his arms and sits back. He definitely does not stare at the excited look on Lance's face. He mutters something like 'no problem', then lets his eyes wander back over the products. There are so many, different sizes and shapes on earth, but all basically the same as the stuff he'd seen. Keith feels the itch again, and crosses his arms tighter to keep from reaching out and grabbing anything else. His eyes wander to Lance's face, and he thinks how good he looks without make up. As much as Keith would love to paint Lance's face, and he would, he can admit that Lance definitely doesn't need it. Lance's eyelashes are already so long, framing his beautiful blue eyes perfectly. Keith swallows, cheeks heating up.

"Oh wow! They have all sorts of colours of foundation too! I bet they even have one for someone as pale as you!" Lance turns to Keith, snickering. Keith just huffs out a whatever, eyes surveying the different tones. He immediately finds the one that would work best for him, a small container with the Altean words for 'light moon' written on it. With another look he finds the one for Lance, a bigger container, this one with a foreign language on it. He picks it up as Lance hums and haws over the pile, and unceremoniously shoves it into his hands.

"Keith?!" Lance glares at the item that was roughly shoved into his palms for a minute, before softening his gaze. He picks it up and turns it around, trying to make heads or tails out of it. Keith sighs, turning it around to the front again and pointing at the colour.

"This one is your tone. It should go with," Keith's eyes fall back onto the concealer pile, and he picks through until he finds the best two. One is a little too orange, the other a little too dark. "these two. You'll have to mix them to get the exact colour, though."

"I'm not even going to question how you knew that. I'll just take your word for it." Lance shrugs. He takes the bottles from Keith, lining them up with the foundation that Keith had handed him. He grabs a few more things, like an eye shadow palette, mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss. He places them on the floor, then takes a stand up mirror out of the case and fiddles with it until it's at his face's height. "Nice! I guess I'll get started then!"

Lance fiddles with a few more things before starting to grab for the foundation. Keith's instincts kicked in before he could do anything to stop himself and he had grabbed it away from Lance. Lance protests, but Keith ignores his shouts in favour of grabbing a clear plastic-like bottle from a pile and handing to it him.

"Use this first. Otherwise, all of the work you put into your skin will be pointless." Lance looks at him weird, but still takes the bottle from him. He stares at it suspiciously, shaking it a few times before opening it up and smelling it.

"Thanks but... what is it?" Lance wrinkles his nose, peering at Keith. Keith folds his arms closer to himself, avoiding Lance's eye contact. He explains without looking back at the boy next to him.

"It's a primer. This type closes your pores before you put anything on your face. It usually makes the make up go on smoother and makes it last longer too." Keith stares at his hands, picking at the leather of his gloves. His eyes sweep over the mess of brushes that Lance had combed into a clean pile, and he grabs a few. "This one's for contour, this one's for your eye shadow, and this one is for highlight, if you choose to use it."

"Damn, thanks." Keith makes the mistake of looking back at Lance, who's smiling like an idiot. His smile is so radiant, Keith has to look away. He can feel himself blushing, and wills himself to keep calm. Huh. So it might be bit harder than he thought, to ignore his feelings.

Lance is pretty decent at the basics, laying down his layer of foundation and dabbing it in with one of the many colourful sponges the case contains. He doesn't put too much, just a thin layer to even out the tone of his face. The concealer goes on next, spread on a few different areas on the face, like Lance's nose, forehead, and under his eyes. It seems like Lance knows a bit of what he's doing, probably from watching his siblings, like he had mentioned earlier. He blends his concealer in, and Keith restrains himself from pointing out the spots he's missed. What happened to not telling anyone about his knowledge of make up?

Lance is just like that, he makes Keith want to tell him everything. He draws it out of him, like a sort of black hole, sucking him in. Keith watches as Lance takes the brush he recommended he use for contour, and lets his eyes wander to his sharp jawline as Lance brushes under his cheekbone. The contour doesn't take too long, Lance looking into the mirror with fierce concentration all the while. He he finally sits back, he smiles.

"Do you think I should do a brighter look? Or maybe one that's a little less noticeable." Keith turns to meet Lance's eyes, because apparently Lance is asking him for advice. He swallows, moving closer to where Lance sits so he can look at the palette set out in front of Lance.

"If you want a nude look, I'd say mix this one and this one, then use this colour around the edges." Keith points to the colours, looking back at Lance to see if he's following along. This was a mistake, because now they're only inches apart, and Keith can feel Lance's breath hot against his lips. He's gaze flicks downwards, landing on Lance's smooth lips before he meets the other's gaze again. Keith blushes, face turning a red brighter than the red lipstick that he took. He quickly turns away, muttering something about remembering to tap the excess powder off between colours.

Keith scoots backwards, giving Lance more space. He watches Lance pick up the brush, rubbing it on his eyelid. He sighs, grabbing Lance's wrist. His minds is screaming at him, begging him to stop, but he pushes on. Keith clucks his tongue, shaking his head at Lance.

"Loosen your grip, yeah that's it. Blend it in with circles, you don't need to do it so hard." Keith mentally kicks himself, releasing Lance's arm. He backs away a bit, and Lance nods gratefully. He nods back, unsure of what else to say. Lance resumes what he was doing, but this time lighter and in the circle shapes Keith showed him. Keith smiles, happy that Lance took his advice.

It doesn't take long before Lance has finished both eyes, a darker bronze colour that reflects the light dusting the top of his lids. Lance stares into the mirror, looking at himself for a moment before breaking into a grin. He picks up the eyeliner he had chose, a liquid type one. Keith watches, wondering how badly Lance might mess it up. It's not like he doesn't have faith in him, it's just that for anyone's first time it's nearly impossible to get it anywhere near perfect.

"So? Any tips for this?" Lance looks at him expectantly, holding the bottle between his pointer finger and his thumb. Keith blanches, realizing that Lance was asking him for help. He nods, taking the container from Lance and unscrewing the lip. The top comes out, a wand attached to it.

"Yeah, so this is the wand and it's gonna be fuckin' hard to keep your hands still while you do it. Just try not to blink, and don't make your wings too big. We're going for less, right?" Keith feels the corners of his lips twitch upwards, and he hands the bottle right back to Lance. Lance, who looks petrified, holding onto the bottle as if any sort of pressure would crack it. Keith raises an eyebrow at him, and sighs. "I can do it for you this time, if you want."

"Yes!" Lance barely waits for him to finish, before readily agreeing. He seems to realize how loud his outburst was, and quickly covers his mouth. "Uh, please. If you want to."

Keith chuckles, a sound that surprises him and Lance both. He ignores his flaming cheeks and moves so he's facing Lance. He picks up the eyeliner, making sure the lid is screwed on completely before he shakes it a few times. He opens it again when he's finished shaking it, wiping the excess off of the wand.

"Okay, you need to stay still. I know that hardly seems possible for you, but if you move you will fuck the entire thing up." Lance stays still, making a noise of assent without opening his mouth. Keith nods, taking a deep breath to steady his shaking hands.

He gently runs the tip along Lance's eyelid, making small steady strokes. He pulls away, admiring his job on the first eye. It's perfect, the wing not too big, but not unnoticeable either. He takes a breath, about to start the other eye when Lance's voice startles him.

"So, how do you know all this anyways?" Lance cracks one of his eyes open cautiously, looking up at Keith. Keith stiffens, the brush in his hand going still. He takes a deep breath, opting to ignore the question entirely than answer. Keith sets his jaw, refusing to meet Lance's curious gaze.

"Don't talk while I'm doing this. You could have made me mess up." Lance stills, his eyes fluttering shut again. For a brief moment, Keith thinks about kissing them. Keith shakes his head, Lance has make up on, he can't mess that up. Why is that the first problem to come to his mind? Lance hates him, the make up is the least of his worries. Speaking of hating him, Keith realizes how harsh his previous statement sounded, so he speaks again as he starts the next eye. "One more eye, we're almost done."

He finishes up quickly, checking both eyes before pulling away. The wings are thin, barely even there and not going too far out. Keith is proud of himself, he did well despite how nervous he actually was.

"Okay, open your eyes for me." Keith screws the cap on the bottle of eyeliner, setting it to the side. Lance blink his eyes open, and glances at Keith. He finds the mascara and quickly rolls some onto Lance's long eyelashes. Keith looks at the make up beside him, reaching around until he grabs the next thing he needs. He tilts Lance's chin up with his fingers, his eyes sweeping over his face. He looks so kissable right now..... No! Keith tears his gaze away, looking back at Lance. "Open your mouth."

Lance complies, opening it wide, very wide. Keith rolls his eyes, shaking his head. That really wasn't what he meant, he was just trying to put some lipstick on Lance.

"No, like this." Keith demonstrates, and then waits for Lance to do the same. Lance does, and Keith uncaps the lipstick, twisting it until it's a good length. He quickly does up Lance's bottom lip, and marvels at how beautiful the dark red looks against his skin. It's an amazing contrast, and Keith hurries to finish the top lip. When the lipstick is complete, Keith reaches over to find the clear lips gloss, spreading a little bit over the lipstick to give it a shine. Lance has his eyes closed shut, so Keith can look at his entire face. He takes it in, it's beautiful really, Lance's face. With or without make up, Lance is beautiful. Keith smiles, giving it one last look before pulling away. He picks up the mirror, holding it up in front of him.

"You can look now." Keith holds the mirror up so it covers all of his face up to his eyes, because he still wants to see Lance's reaction. Lance meets his eyes, before his gaze flickers down to the mirror. His eyes fly open, and he gasps, before closing him mouth again. After a moment or two, he looks back at Keith, eyes sparkling with excitement, and something that looks like tears. He blinks rapidly, giggling a bit.

"What happened to making it a 'nude look'?" Lance teases him, poking Keith's hand. He looks back at the mirror, pouting his lips and fluttering his eyelids. He turns his head this way and that, trying to see every angle. "This lipstick is really something."

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that. I just thought it would look good. With the make up, I mean." Keith flushes, setting the mirror back down. He doesn't think he can handle any more of this, being around Lance. He wants to kiss him, wants to taste the deep red of his lips, feel the shape of his jaw. Keith wants to hold him and never let go. 

Keith stands up without a word, turning away from Lance. He needs to keep his thoughts in check, he needs to get out of the room right now. It's dangerous, thinking about things like that. Keith turns away from Lance, muttering a goodbye as he stalks out of the room. It wasn't meant to be rude, but he can't help it. His thoughts are going crazy. Just when he thinks Lance can't get any cuter, suddenly this happens and he's left to wonder how one person can be so beautiful all over again.

 

Back in his room, Keith paces. It's almost night time, and he's still thinking about this morning. The space isn't the most suited to pacing, so Keith eventually stops in front of the mirror hung on the wall. He looks at his reflection, tired eyes and sterns glare, and wonders how he ever would have thought he might have a chance with Lance. He's so stupid, to have thought something like that.

He turns away from the surface, stripping off his shirt and boots. He unhooks his belt and pulls it off, stopping when he sees the pocket on his fanny pack. Oh yeah. The lipstick. He unzips the pocket, reaching in and wrapping his fingers around the slender tube. Keith pulls it out of the pack, heart beating a little bit faster as he makes his way back to the mirror with it in his hand. Uncapping it, he twists the container, repeating the motion from earlier on in the day, and staring at it. Keith slowly puts spreads it over his bottom lip, hands shaking. He presses his lips together, filling in his top lip where the print of his bottom lip didn't reach. He touches up the edges, just as the door makes a hissing sound and slides open.

Lance stands in the door way, make up still intact. His mouth has dropped open, a pretty blush taking over his face. Keith flushes, remembering the lipstick in his hand. He closes it up, biting the inside of his cheek. 

"I-I was just, uh, going to ask how to take it off, but uh, damn." He whispers the last part, and Keith didn't even feel himself moving forwards until he's already only a few feet away from Lance. Lance takes a step towards him, his gaze moving between Keith's eyes and his lips. Keith moves closer too, his eyes traveling all over the room, too nervous to stay and focus on one place. 

It's Lance who moves first, right as Keith locks eyes with him again. He rushes forwards, bringing his hands up to grab Keith's face and pull it to meet his own. Their lips collide in a crash of colours, the brilliant red of Keith's lips mixing with the dark burgundy of Lance's. It's a symphony of colours, a beautiful mess. Lance's hands roam Keith's bare chest, groping the hard surface. Keith groans and presses back against him, his own hands coming up to cup the back of Lance's neck, pulling him in and refusing to let him go. 

But they need to breathe, so they break away only for them to collide again, and again, and again. Keith kisses Lance feverishly, and Lance melts into it, kissing back with just as much heat. When they finally pull away for real, they're panting hard and looking into each other's eyes. 

Keith takes in the sight before him, Lance with his runny makeup and messy lips. They have bits of bright red all over them, and some spots where all of the lipstick has been rubbed off. He did that, Keith thinks, that was him. 

"I love you." Somehow Lance manages to croak it out, even though his voice is thoroughly wrecked. He coughs once, blinking back tears as he stares at Keith. 

A tear slides down Keith's face, though he hardly notices. Lance steps forwards, reaching up to cup Keith's cheeks, pressing a feather light kiss under each of his eyes. Keith blinks back more tears, smiling up at Lance. 

"I love you too." 

 

Lance sits of the bed, Keith across from him, wiping at his face. Lance had brought wipes over with him, and Keith really didn't have anything better to do it with. He wipes the last bit of lips stick from Lance's lips, then presses his own clean lips against his briefly. Lance giggles, leaning back in for another kiss. 

Once they've finished wiping off the last of their make up, Lance suggests they do a face mask. Lance is in his element here, as he spreads a green goop all over Keith's face. Keith wrinkles his nose, cringing as it drips down his cheek. 

"So, you never did say how you were so good with make up." Lance starts, pretending not to notice how Keith flinches beneath him. "Not that you have to tell me if you don't want to."

Lance finishes spreading the goo all over Keith's face, and then starts his on his own. He starts with his cheeks, forehead, nose, then chin. Keith's voice startles him, timid and small as it is.

"My mother used to do it with me, before she died. Then later on I watched Shiro and Matt do it. I spent the year I was kicked out of the garrison learning how to do it better." Keith takes a deep breath, steadying himself. It's not something he normally talks about, he can't remember the last time anyone asked. Lance rubs his back, soothing and warm on his bare skin. "I guess I just didn't want people to think it's stupid."

"Oh babe, I could never think it's stupid." Lance smiles reassuringly, booping Keith on the nose with his pointer finger. He gestures to himself, the green mask bright against his skin. "Besides, I do things like this, who am I to judge." 

"I'm actually very impressed with your skills. Plus, you look hot in lipstick." Lance smiles just as the timer begins to beep. He hands Keith a washcloth and takes one for himself, wiping the goop off of his face. 

"You do too." Keith breaks the silence after they wash off their faces. He smirks, planting a kiss on Lances cheek. "Look good in lipstick, I mean." 

They're kissing again, but no one's keeping track of for how long.

Lance throws a pair of pajama bottoms at Keith, who catches them with ease. Lance tells him to change in the bathroom, he's going to sleep here tonight. So he does, he changes into the fleecy baby blue pajama pants, and crawls into bed shirtless. Lance is already pulling Keith closer to him, wrapping his long arms around his torso. He drops a kiss on top of Keith's head, pulling the blanket higher up around the two of them. 

"I love you." Keith smiles. 

"I love you too." Lance is already dreaming.

**Author's Note:**

> :')


End file.
